Leclerc: Ferrari is quite a bit behind the top three.

      Charles Leclerc finished sixth in Singapore and after the race called Ferrari the fourth-fastest team, noticeably behind the top three. The Scuderia driver added that he began experiencing brake overheating problems already in the opening laps.

      Lewis Hamilton suffered similar brake problems. Because of them the seven-time world champion repeatedly went off track and was given a five-second penalty, which, after being applied, dropped him from seventh to eighth in the final classification.

      Despite all the car's problems, Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap of the race — his first while at the wheel of a Ferrari.

      Charles Leclerc (6th): “At the start there was a very close battle between me and Kimi Antonelli. Maybe our cars even touched, but I didn't feel anything. I executed a great move and was glad to have moved up to fifth.

      I was expecting more pace, but it just wasn't there. Unfortunately, right now we are the fourth-fastest team, which is quite a lot behind the top three teams. Mercedes have been able to take a step forward, Red Bull have picked up since Monza, whereas we haven't been able to make the necessary step forward. We have a long end to the season ahead.

      Around lap seven or eight I started having brake problems. I had to spend a lot of attention monitoring their condition. I don't know how much time I was losing because of that each lap, but I don't want to blame everything only on the brakes, because on this track everyone had to keep an eye on them.

      But Lewis and I had more problems than the others, and we paid the price for that. Perhaps Lewis had more issues because he was on softer tyres, which provided better grip and put more load on the brakes. When fifth place was attainable, he did everything to fight for it. But that only intensified the brake problems, which became too hot in these conditions.”

      Lewis Hamilton (8th): “We've had a difficult few days, but there were positive moments. I felt comfortable in the car all weekend and I had a strong final third of the race.

      The Soft tyres allowed me to attack, and thanks to that I cut a large deficit to the rivals ahead. However the brake problems prevented overtaking and cost me the chance to score more points.

      We had the potential to achieve more this weekend, starting in qualifying. Now we're focused on getting the most out of Austin, racing cleanly and scoring as many points as possible.”

      Frédéric Vasseur, team principal: “First of all, we congratulate McLaren on a deserved win in the Constructors' Championship.

      Our team had a tough weekend. We started confidently but then failed to unlock the car's full potential in qualifying. In the race, problems with brake cooling began from the opening laps, although on an empty track we had a respectable pace. For the last fifteen laps Lewis showed tremendous pace, but he attacked too hard trying to catch the rivals ahead, which led to the brakes overheating.

      Clearly, in the last few races we've been a step behind our rivals. We need to improve the car's potential and the way we run race weekends to get the most out of the car and the drivers. Obviously, results like today's are disappointing.

      We must maintain a high pace throughout the whole weekend, and we need to get back to that form in Austin.”